The days were long with Carlos being away from home. It was strange, they hadn't been together for that long but being together felt so normal by then that both just wanted to be with each other, no matter where that was.
Sara: I miss you
Carlos: I miss you too. I'll call you after the race. It's the last one. I'm coming to England in four days. Can't you really make it work?
Sara couldn't suppress a chuckle, even though she was sitting amidst her colleagues in the office.
"What are you chuckling at?" Camille asked.
"Carlos." Camille rolled her eyes.
"Honestly, you have been like a lovesick puppy since he is gone. How are you going to survive next season."
"Funny how you do not ask me how I will survive the last race as well." Sara grinned.
"We all know you are not going to miss that one. It is the final one of the season. You are going to be there." Sara bit her lip. She was going to be there, the V.I.P. paddock passes and flight tickets had already been bought. "See." Camille dramatically threw her hands up in the air. "I told you so." Sara stood up. "I am going to the toilet." Sara laughed and left for the toilets.
When she came back, Camille was holding Sara's phone to her ear and she was happily chatting with someone.
"Camille, what are you up to?" Sara asked as she looked at her.
"Your phone rang and it said Carlos so I picked it up but it is not Carlos." Sara frowned and took her phone from Camille.
"Hello?"
"Ah, Sara, it's Jon."
"Hi, Jon, what is up?"
"Nothing much yet but how is the deal coming along?" Sara laughed.
"You have my phone number Jon, why the hell are you calling me with Carlos' phone?"
"Mine died, but how far are you?"
"I have arranged for a week in London as long as I spend four out of seven days at the English office and the plane tickets have been bought."
"Great, great." Jon mentally went through everything else. "You just need a way to get from the airport to the factory."
"I have a very sweet friend in London who is crazy enough to do so."
"So you have arranged with work that it is fine, you have booked your flight, you can get to the factory... From there you can just stay with Carlos for a week. I'm pretty sure he is crazy enough to drive you to work every day."
"I'm pretty sure he is sweet enough."
"And crazy enough," Jon argued. "But I'm going to end the call before Carlos starts to wonder where the hell I am."
"Sure, thank you, Jon."
"No worries." Sara put her phone and stared at her PC screen. She couldn't wait to see Carlos again. To be able to kiss and hug him. She just had to wait four days. That was all.
Xxx
Sara was holding onto Camille's hand tightly. There were four laps left and Carlos was in p5. Hamilton was ahead, so Sara didn't have the highest hopes for Carlos gaining any more positions but she didn't mind. He had started from the back after being unable to set a time in qualifying.
Sara had stayed up a little longer to be able to call Carlos after the session – she still was going to pay attention for Pierre – and they had talked for about thirty minutes where Sara first comforted a very frustrated Spaniard and told him she believed he could do well the next day.
And he had, but the people putting the tv images together had somehow forgotten to show him. There he was, in fifth from the final places of the grid and she had seen none of his overtakes. But it didn't matter, thanks to all the information on the screen, she had still noticed whenever Carlos had overtaken someone, when he had gone into the pits and when others ahead had gone into the pits.
"Ahh!" Sara suddenly screamed when on the final lap, Lewis Hamilton tapped the rear of Alexander Albon's car – the car that was supposed to be Pierre's. Albon spun and fell back as Hamilton could continue, albeit being in the same position he was before the contact as Pierre had overtaken Hamilton and Albon. Hamilton had overtaken him after the safety car had entered the pits again but could start all over again. But it was the final lap and Hamilton had not all the time of the world to take the position back.
"Come on Pierre!" Sara stood up and watched as they raced to the finish line. It was incredibly close as they neared the line but in the end, Pierre crossed it first after Max Verstappen and got second place. "Yes!" She then quickly looked to see where Carlos had finished. Fourth.
"But the move Hamilton made was super unfair right?" Camille asked. This was one of the first times, she watched it. Sara just made her come to her apartment and made her watch it when she didn't want to watch it alone.
"It was, so he might get a penalty. Even five seconds will put him back a place and then Carlos will have a bloody podium from the back of the grid." She shook her head. "And I will have seen nothing of it!" Camille laughed.
"I'm sure he won't be mad because of it."
"But still, it will be his first podium in formula one," Sara screamed when she watched Lewis step on the podium. "He is going to get a penalty! Why don't they just put Carlos on there, he's going to get the bloody podium without the ceremony?! That's just plain evil. He's going to get a podium while being completely invisible!" Sara continued screaming. "I won't have it!"
"What are you going to do about it?" Camille laughed.
"And you will have seen it. At least every time he overtook someone because you kept yelling in my ear every single time." Sara sheepishly chuckled. She had done exactly so.
"I'm sorry."
"No worries." Camille looked at the screen as Sara stuck out her tongue at Hamilton. "Now what?"
"We turn it off and we keep checking the sites that could tell us if they have given Hamilton a penalty." Camille nodded.
"Watching a race like this is bloody tiring." Sara chucked.
"Welcome in the life of a wag, on top of the boringness of the race or the excitement there is the fear of them getting hurt." Camille placed her hand on Sara's. "Especially after Anthoine. I can't lose Pierre or Carlos in the same way. Losing Anthoine already was the worst thing I have ever experienced."
"You would be one unlucky girl if it were to ever happen to you. And you are a bit unlucky but it isn't that bad." Camille winked. "I need another glass of wine, this race was just too much. Are you with me?" Sara nodded. She could use another glass of wine as well. "You are going to England tomorrow right?"
"Yes, why?"
"Andrea asked if I could come as well, but I can't get off from work, because someone already is!" Sara laughed.
"I'm sorry darling. But I'm not off the entire time. I need to work four out of seven days at the English office. So don't worry, I'll be doing enough as well. We need to make some online meetings as well." Sara looked at her phone as she received a call from Carlos. "Hey Carlos, amazing-"
"Hamilton got a penalty!" Carlos excitedly yelled.
"What?!" Sara screamed in response. "So you..."
"I got third place. I got on the podium!"
"From the bloody back! I am so proud of you Carlos!" Sara started to tear up as Camille got back from the kitchen. She had figured out that something had happened to Carlos' position and that he was now on the podium. "The stupid FIA, I never got to see you on the podium."
"We are going there now, a bit of a private podium ceremony. I'll ask Jon to FaceTime you."
"That would be amazing. I'll be there, sort of. Gosh, I am so proud." Sara happily jumped up and down. "Damn boy, you did it. Last to third. Who would have thought that!"
"I didn't. I knew I could get back to the points, but the podium, no, not a chance." Sara smiled.
"Just get to your podium champ. I love you."
"I love you too. I'll ask Jon or someone else out of the team." Carlos ended the call and soon Carlos called again. "Found someone." He handed over the phone and Sara smiled as she watched Carlos and the rest of the team on the podium, the trophy in hand, as champaign was sprayed. Sara teared up. She was so proud of the man she was looking at. He started to show more and more what he was worth and McLaren gave him everything he needed to do so.
"You are such a softy." Camille laughed as she watched along. "It's adorable."